China and the U.S. are the two biggest car markets in the world, but despite this, Hyundai is easing back on its initial sales targets for both countries, citing tough market conditions as the main cause. In China, Hyundai has reduced its target from 320,000 units this year to 260,000, the first drop since the brand was launched there in 2002. Things are so grim that officials are even planning to drop prices just to keep up with the competition. Sales so far have dropped a staggering 18.2-percent this year, and this is in a market that's experiencing the world's fastest growth.
Fortunately for Hyundai, conditions in the U.S. aren't as severe. The annual sales target for the U.S. has only been lowered by 45,000 units, falling from 555,000 to 510,000, and once again low demand is the culprit. It's easy to think in the black-and-white of our own domestics doing poorly and imports doing well (that's not even always true), but Hyundai's predicament shows this is clearly not the case in the U.S.
Other bumps in the road slowing Hyundai's growth have been a string of recent industrial disputes, but these are nothing new. The automaker has faced walkouts in all but one year of its existence since the company was founded in 1987.
[Source: Yahoo News/AFP]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bob-omb @ Sep 7th 2007 11:02AM
The Chinese are too busy buying Buicks and Volkswagens. So it's kind of hard to predict their wacky purchase habits.
rem83 @ Sep 7th 2007 11:31AM
I thought everyone keeps saying Europe is the biggest market in the world? Or doesn't that count since its multiple countries.
KC @ Sep 7th 2007 1:24PM
Hyundai may have got their quality up, but their products are still not stand out.
Their styling is derivative, and not consistent, there is no brand identity that allows people to look across their model line and see a family resemblance, or see any of their products on the road and instantly tell - that's a Hyundai.
They just randomly copy any popular automobile design that happens to be popular at the time their automobiles are due for updating.
Same with Kia. No theme. No identity. No image. Just another car.
That's what's keeping them from growing any more. They've ridden the quality train as far as it's going to take them. They've also ridden the value train as far as it's gonna go.
I mean would you buy an Elantra over a new Lancer? Lancer is Korean priced, Japanese quality and has great styling that is going to be echoed in all Mitsus upcoming cars.
Hyundai needs to pull a Nissan, Mazda Mitsubishi, now to complete it's repositioning. You see a Nissan, you know instantly it is a Nissan, same with Mazda, soon to be same with Mitsu
Hyundai/Kia need to build brand identities. Right now the two completely overlap each other and nether has any real identity aside from 'The big Korean automotive company'
They need to be more then an Accord or that Hyundai knock off
They need to be more then 'whatever the hell Kia sells in this or that segment that no one even remembers the name of let alone what one looks like'
jsjs @ Sep 7th 2007 4:33PM
Uhh, Hyundai/Kia have only reduced their annual sales forecast in the US due to the tough conditions (auto sales in the US, overall, are down for the 2nd straight year).
Nonetheless, Kia is on track to to sell 5% more cars this year than last year and Hyundai sales is virtually unchanged from last year.
As for Mazda or Mitsu - there's a reason why Hyundai/Kia sells 3.5 to 7x as many cars as Mazda and Mitsu yearly.
jsjs @ Sep 7th 2007 4:38PM
Uhh, Hyundai has only scaled down its forecast for 2007 sales due to the tough economic environment in the US (auto sales are down for the 2nd consecutive year).
Nonethless, Hyundai sales are virtually unchanged from last year and Kia sales are on track for a 5 % increase from the prior year.
As for Mazda and Mitsu – there’s a reason why Hyundai/Kia sales are roughly 3.5 to 7 times that of Mazda and Mitsu in the US.
Jerry Riggs @ Sep 7th 2007 4:44PM
The Lancer is not "cool". Test drove one in June.... with the CVT(not the paddle shifter one, just plain old CVT) and it was a slug on wheels!(do a net search for the "regualr" Lancer, with CVT.. no one is praising it for "sportiness"/0-60 times).
it was a family sedan, that had sporty looks( I'll keep my tC, thank you... 0-60 in 8.2 seconds with automatic, vs 10+ seconds for the Lancer with CVT, and similar MSRP's). I'd even consider the Corolla or Elantra first, if all I wanted was a family compact, get the "S" Corolla, if all I wanted Were Sporty Looks, ya know?
Anyhow... my gripe is:
1) Hyundai's prices are up, and , but not MPG, for one.
The Accent and the Sonata both have 8 wya adjustable seats, where the Mid-car, Elantra... has 6 way only(and aren't as comfortable as the Accent's)....and the Elantra, for example, was 13-16K tops(usually could be had for 11,500-14K on sale) in 2006, before the new, MeltedLooking Elantra(Corolla) came out.
It's 15-18K now.... avg price over 16K MSRP.
That's Toyota pricing there, but w/o the MPG of a Corolla(see 08 MPG ratings).
2) Yes, they are derivative off many styles, but they are going for more bland than weird or unique.
Or 01 Tiburon Always had positive comments from people(some disliked it on internet sites, oh well).
Now?
It does not really stand out as different.
Same for Sonata....the old one, I was asked by a guy at a local Clark station 3 years ago(Thanksgiving Day, in fact) "How do you like your Infinity!"....
Hyundai went from Infinity looks to what? A lower class of car in looks? Why?
3) I have a Sonata.. and it's 3 years old, and still runs fine. No major issues. Just I prefer the looks of the 02-05 to 06 on up...the bland mobile.
4) As for Kia... look for the Soul(look it up..they had pix on this very website), to be out in early Spring of 08.....as an example of change(at least,to a degree, at Kia).
That is weird, but many seem to have expressed interest in it on net comments.
The Optima is sort of bland...buton sale, a great bargain, and not a bad car.
The main issue with Kia to me is dealerships, the lack of.....
and the few I found are the size of a small used car lot.
One place has One(1) bay for car service, and is the size of a Shell gas station bldg. It's very small... 2 sales reps, 1 mechanic...and the owners also have(across the street) Huge Honda, Nissan and Mazda dealerships.
I think they might be expanding(they are building something, clearing space)....Kia, due to increase in sales(see July and August sales results...Kia's are record setting).
I dunno. Hyundai used to have "whacky" designs I liked, butnot anymore, and prices one could live with,and unless they're on sale... they're thisclose to Toyota(so why not buy Toyota?).
Kia just needs to dump that horrid little Spectra for that cool Pro'C'eed from Europe, get the Soul sales going,
and "fix" the looks on some of their other cars.
MikeW @ Sep 7th 2007 8:38PM
The problem with the CVT is the terrible programming. The frictional losses from the hydraulic system (to run the torque converter clutch & forward/reverse clutch system, and the variator clamping), and two stage axle ratio is something else.
Another problem is the lancer automatic is ~3000lbs+. The galant from 15 years ago was ~3000lbs. So the Lancer should get the 2.4 liter world engine, at least make it standard in the GTS trim, optional in the middle trim level.
and the GTS model's manumatic interface doesn't give full access to the entirety of the ratio spread. Only 3/4 of it.
Why not a 7th or even 8th gear that is maximum overdrive for mileage? and why no manumatic for the base two cars?
http://www.worldcarfans.com/3070115.002/photo1065/2008-mitsubishi-lancer
Why does Mitsubishi think like Honda [only acura has manumatic interfaces] in that it is a premium feature to control one's gear selection?
http://www.worldcarfans.com/3070115.002/photo1064/2008-mitsubishi-lancer
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2142749052425180090&q=cvt&total=359&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3
Imp @ Sep 7th 2007 8:50PM
What in God's name are you yapping about? How long has this new found quality reputation been around? You expect far too much in far too little time.
Steve @ Feb 27th 2008 6:31PM
That blur you saw was my 2006 Kia Sportage EX passing you! That's why you can't remember what they look like!
AnonyMust @ Sep 7th 2007 3:09PM
THE REAL NEWS IS THEIR CHAIRMAN WON'T GO TO PRISON AND THEY ARE NOT FACING A STRIKE. Who is doing the reporting at Autoblog.
With Hyundai not facing a strike and their Chair still at the helm, Hyundai can now really ramp up the output and focus on their very important product pipeline.
AnonyMust @ Sep 7th 2007 3:13PM
Oh but their Chair not going to prison and their workers not going on strike is less important. Where are these stories?
Harold Kerrick @ Sep 7th 2007 3:26PM
I seem to remember this company's chair predicting 1 million in sales in the U.S. by 2010....guess that
is not gonna happen? This same chair was also quoted at about the same time as saying he was working to position Hyundai as a BMW competitor....is he there yet?
far jr @ Sep 7th 2007 8:58PM
Exactly... Hyundai is not performing as anticipated. The only thing keeping Hyundai from loosing market share is the fact that they are entering new categories with vehicles like the Veracruz. Sales are down in many other categories:
Sonota has 92808 in 2007 vs. 114584 in 2006
Elantra has 66726 in 2007 vs. 73065 in 2006
Azera has 15938 in 2007 vs. 18577 in 2006
Accent down
Tuscon down
Tiburon down
You get the point
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/09/04/060897.html
You will need to scroll down to read the article.
Rick @ Sep 7th 2007 3:44PM
I thought Hyundai was jumping towards the big boys a tad too fast. They were laughable not 3 years ago and now are comparing their cars to Lexus, Landrover, BMW, etc. No knock on their prices, design and offerings, but they need to build a reputation for reliablity and resale value first. I think they need to scale back pricing some and be focused on undercutting everyone more aggressively then they are. And I think they need to do that for a few more years before trying to move up.
jsjs @ Sep 7th 2007 4:40PM
Hyundai isn't really comparing their current model line to BMW, Lexus, etc. - just comparing certain features - much like Ford is doing comparing the Edge to the BMW X5.
Bryan @ Sep 7th 2007 6:55PM
Maybe they just arent very desirable? Maybe they are not as great as they are made out to be? Maybe, just maybe, they could create their own design just once? Oh wait, they did, it was the original Accent. LMAO.
jsjs @ Sep 7th 2007 7:39PM
Bryan -
Stop being such a dolt!
Hyundai sales are even with last year's (in an overall down US market) and Kia sales are up.
Bryan @ Sep 7th 2007 8:14PM
It's okay JS, we can't all handle the truth. Please leave your name calling for the schoolyard. This is an adult site. Thanks!
james @ Sep 7th 2007 11:04PM
Hyundai Motor founded in 1987?
Come on guys, i like this site but please know your subject and correct your stories when corrected.
jsjs @ Sep 7th 2007 11:12PM
Doltish Bryan -
LOL!
Yes - this is an adult site - which is EXACTLY why you should stop your incessant bashing of Hyundai.
Everything I had laid out is based on FACTS, including the accurate characterization of you - you, otoh, only post worthless conjecture.